ATSB investigates fatal Ambulance Victoria winch accident
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating an Ambulance Victoria helicopter rescue mission in which a man fell to his death. The 68-year-old man, who had broken his ankle , was being winched up to the aircraft when he fell around 30 m (100 ft).
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating an Ambulance Victoria helicopter rescue mission in which a man fell to his death. The 68-year-old man, who had broken his ankle at Lake Eildon, northeast of Melbourne, was being winched up to the aircraft at around 12:30 hrs on 31 August when he fell around 30 m (100 ft).
Although Ambulance Victoria at first suspended winch operations following the accident, by 2 September engineers had inspected three of the service’s five helicopters and given them the all clear to resume operations.
According to reports, the victim weighed more than 100 kg (220 lb), but this should have been well within the capacity of the capabilities of the rescue equipment and the aircraft.
Greg Sassella, chief executive of Ambulance Victoria, was quoted as saying: “I understand [the victim] was at the door of the helicopter and they were attempting to get him into the helicopter. This is devastating for the crew. They spend their whole lives putting themselves at risk for patients, and in this instance, something’s gone astray.” He added: “We have a very good record here in Victoria, but that’s because we do learn and understand what goes wrong when it goes wrong.”
The ATSB is expected to issue a preliminary report into the incident in October. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority, police and Work Safe Australia are also looking into the accident.